Actuating mechanism



Sept. 15, 1964 P. H. YOUNG 'ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 25, 1961 air-Bani;

. Ill

PETER H. Y-OUNG BY ATTORNEY United States Patent cc 48,748

Patented Sept. 15, 1964 33 for supporting reset'means which'will be described 3,148,748 S below.

ACTUATING MEtIHANi M i v Peter H. Youn Ciinton, N.Y.-, assignor to The Bendix g li p splgng n Cor o ation Utica N.Y. a corporation of Delaware 39 O t e mg 1 an 1 ave aft or P P na Jan 1; Sen NW 5 cesses 40 and 41 which pivot on-p1vot p1n'0rshaft'27 of i h 4 Cf i 6; 135.47) upper connector 25. Ends '38 Sand 39'also' have' facing c edges 43 and .44 which are spaced to provide for limited This invention relates to actuatingmeans and more parrotation o a 15 and 17'ab011t t CrShaPed leaf ticularly concerns an actuatingmechanism for operating a spring 13 is normally conce tric ZYVlth shaft 27 and-en control element, such as thecontrol rod of a loekingdecircles springends 38 and '39. SprmglS 1s connecteditol vice for a separable coupling. arms and 17 adjacent plunger 19 for urging the :arms; An object of the present invention is to provide an imtoward each other to give reliable engagement 'With proved actuating mechanism havinga spring-biased plungp ger 19. a If J 7 er which is reliably restrained and easily released. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, plunger 19-1ncludes a CYIlIl-E. Another object is the provision of such an actuating 15 drical latch end or part 51 'at the left,;a reduced-d ameter; mechanism which is adapted to bereset with ease after neck 53,'a large cylindrical body 55, and acircular guide" being operated; piston 57 at the right; Tubular member 52 extends to the" A further object is the provision of an improved actuatright omsmounting .P 11 and g" Wall 23 and ing mechanism having a spring-biased plunger which is provides'a riding surface for the plunger .guide piston 571 normally restrained by two arms urged together by a G- and Ph Cavity At the lf n openlngoliin Shaped l af i mounting plate 11; a shou lder 63ers provided for contin- An additional-object is to provide an improved actuating g the left 611d pr s6 Sitting .5 h g mechanism which includes a spring-biased plunger, two p g h ty 55 cohfinedvatthe h y the e arms arranged 'at the sides of the plunger for the restraint lly-pro ecting guide piston The arms 15. and 17'are thereof, cam means for separating the restraining arms for blased 50 83 t0 have their 1 edges firmly under the I 1 n er andreset means fgr returning plunger latch shoulder 67 (see FIG. .1) formed atithe. 3?; 3333;; z gg f Gr l k d iti juncture of the cylindrical part 55and the neck'53'fwhich The realization of the above objects along with-the feahmltsafms 19 n tures and advantages of this invention will be apparent The lower 01 cam ends r70'and71 of the arms 15 and from the following description and the accompanying 17 i t along the major axissides of cam 21'so that imme'dia drawing in h; ate, e ectiveengagement with the arms 15,-17 r'esults'when', FIG 1 is a partially cross-sectioned side view of an em- Cam 21 1S rotated- Y. Q 8a a t" bodiment of the invention and shows the horizontally- 75 cohhectefi t0 the elhptlcal Cam 21 iphsltlhhed-betweeh extending spring-biased plunger inlocked position and the th@ shghtly-lllwardly-cllrved Cam-ends 70"and 7 'of arms i id d cam f r releasing th l 15 and 17. Solenoid 73 provides means for lrmltedly ro- FIG. 2 is a partially cross-sectioned side view similar tatlhgham 21 so that arms ls-ahd 17 moved pa to FIG. 1 with lower parts broken-off and shows the with fiXingof spring 13 disengaged kfi j plungerreleased and'moved to the right as limited-by theand latch Shoulder 57 0f P mg l l r0d' 77 7' S t eans ada ted to move which engages plunger piston 57 will be moved as limited p ifr i gii t ih i fg we re a m P 0 bythe device to which it is connected, as shown-in FIG; 2; FIG. 3 is an end view from left of FIG. 1 with parts It to he noted that p hg 0ns arms 15 and; 17 omitted to show the'C-shaped leaf spring and the spring adlttceht Plunger 19 for gfpehahle g g t ami ends of the locking arms above the plunger latch end and 21 y actlng at ends a d hasleverage actldfln provides a showing of the cam in normal position and the h means for fesettlhg the P l 19 V18 y plunger latch end restrained by thevertically-extending Gated between the P g 19-a11d t am 21 and includes locking arms; and as seen 1n FIG. 3, an actuator shaft 81 having hexagonal FIG. 4 is an end view similar to FIG. 3 and shows the tllrh nut at t fight, a first ft p rtion 83 'rotatablycam in rotated position with the plunger latchend released lhohhted 111 h right bracket 36,41 Central I110uht1ng$eC- f h l ki arms, I 1 tron 840i square cross-sect1on,"and a second'shaft"porc-'- R f r i to -1 to 4 -11 actuatingmechanism i tion 85 rotatably-mounted in the le ftbracket 35. ofcon cludes, as major components, an elongated mounting plate Hector I 11 a C-shaped leaf spring 13, two restraining or locking reset level 87 has a Y h Pa h a qu e annsw 15mm urged together by Spring 13 a horizon hole mounted on the-square mounting section-84 of shaft- 81. As shown in FIGNZ, a late-lik reset arm.89 extends" tallyimanged Sprmg'blased plunger. 19 restramed by i from the cylindrical part 8s and has a curved-rend contact lockmg arms 15 and 17 and an 6111p Heal. Cam'zl for urging foot WI This foot 90 extends into a reset slot or-opening' beams 15 and 17 apart thereby releasmg the PhlYgeF 19 91'forn1ed in the neck 53 and latch end 51 of the plunger" Sprin'g13 is a circular band of SPYhlg Steel and has Its f 19. Foot 99 is constructed so that it engages the crossrelatively closely spaced where attached to lock "arms 15 bar 93 bfthe Plunger 19; Reset lever 87 canvbe rotated,

and 17; Lock arms 15 and 17 are arranged Perpendicular counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 2) moving-plunger to the plunger 19 at opposite sides thereof and "extend a the l ft that k parmskls 7 e generally Parallel to each other ffom'the P' the bottom cylindrical latch end 51and"slip"under "circular latch 0f Plate 11 Which eXtehdS Vertically shoulder 67 of the plunger 19. A return spring 93 for- As Shown in 1, the thhuhtihg Plhte 11.1.8 attache reset lever 87 isprovidedfa's shown in FIGS; 3*and4 but to a housing wall 23 by means of an upper connector 25' omitted from FIGS; 1 and2) .sothat foot will abut and a lower connector 26. Upper connector 25 provides mounting plate 11 when. reset lever 87 is not rotated by a-pivot pin or shaft 27, an upper circular confining plate means of turnlnut 82.5. Return spring .93fencircles the! 29 for locking arms 15 and 17, anda cover plate 31for cylindrical part 88 of the reset lever 87.and loops over C-shaped spring 13. Lower connector 26 provides a 7 the reset arm 89 with thespringends abuttingconnector lower circular confining plate-'33 for locking arms15 and 0 plate 33. Thus, reset means are compactly provided. over. 17 and also two brackets 35 and 36 projecting from plate arms 15 and 1'7 and between the plunger :19v and the cam CB "21 for easily returning plunger 19 so that arms re-engage latch shoulder 67.

The operation of the actuating mechanism is believed to be apparent from the foregoing. Thus, during normal operation, the plunger 19, lock arms 15 and 17, and cam 21 are positioned as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 so that plunger 19 is locked. Control rod 77, for example, can be connected to a locking device of a coupling connecting a drive shaft to an electrical generator. Rod 77 will abut plunger piston 57 and when moved provides for the uncoupling of the generator if it fails. Plunger 19 is urged to the right by spring 65 but is firmly locked or restrained due to the edges of spring ends 38 and 39 of lock arms 15 and 17 being engaged with circular latch shoulder 67 at the neck 53 of plunger 19. Lock arms 15 and 17 are firmly tensioned toward each other by C- shaped leaf spring 13 as limited by the neck 53 of plunger '19. It is to be noted that the sides of lock arms 15 and '17 are slidably confined between the flat surface of the mounting plate 11 and the facing flat surfaces of the connector plates 29 and 33 so that movement away from the mounting plate 11 is prevented while pivoting of the lock arms 15 and 17 is permitted.

, When it is desired to move control rod 77, a suitable switch (not shown) is closed to energize briefly solenoid 73. Such action would be taken, for example, when the generator above-mentioned malfunctions and it is necessary to operate the coupling locking device. Solenoid 73 when energized gives limited rotation to cam 21 as shown in FIGURE 4 so that lock arms 15 and 17 are spread apart or moved away from each other with spring end shaft recesses 40 and 41 turning on connector shaft 27. The spreading of lock arms 15 and 17 permits plunger shoulder 67 to disengage from the edges of the lock arms 15 and 17 and plunger 19 moves control rod 77 for its limited movement. Arms 15 and 17 are limited against latch end 51 when solenoid 73 is tie-energized.

In order to reset the plunger 19, the turn nut 82 is ro tated counterclockwise as mentioned above. Foot 90 of reset lever 87 moves in plunger slot 91 and engages the cross bar 93 of latch end 51, causing plunger 19 to move against spring 65. This movement will be sufficient for lock arms 15 and 17 to slip under shoulder 67 as limited by neck 53 so that the spring-biased plunger 19 is restrained whereby the actuating mechanism is re-locked. C-shaped leaf spring 13 tensions lock arms 15 and 17 so that they urge toward each other when cleared of the cylindrical end 51 of plunger 19 for locking under shoulder 67 as above mentioned. a

7 It is to be understood that persons skilled in the art can make changes in the disclosed embodiment without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is: i

1. An actuating device comprised of a spring-biased 15 and 17 plunger, support means for said plunger'including a mounting plate having a plunger opening receiving said plunger, said plunger having a cylindrical latch end and a neck projecting from said opening and providing a circular latch shoulder, two flat locking arms extending generally parallel to each other at opposite sides of said plunger and perpendicularly thereto, said arms engaging said latch shoulder and said neck, said arms having spring ends laterally spaced from said plunger and cam ends opposite said spring ends and laterally spaced from said plunger, a pivot pinsprojecting from said mounting plate, said spring ends being pivotally-mounted on said pivot pin, a C-sh-aped leaf spring arranged concentric with said pivot pin and encircling said spring ends, said shaped spring being connected to said spring ends adjacent said plunger to urge said arms toward each other, and cam means arranged to move said cam ends of said locking arms away from each other so that said arms release said plunger.

' 2. An actuating device comprised of a spring-biased plunger, a pivot pin projecting from said mounting plate,

said spring ends being pivotally-mounted on said pivot pin, a C-shaped leaf spring arranged concentric with said pivot pin and encircling said spring ends, said 0- shaped spring being connected to said spring ends adjacent said plunger to urge said arms toward each other, cam means including a rotary solenoid and an elliptical cam arranged to move said cam ends of said locking arms away from each other so that said arms release said plunger, and reset means between said plunger and said cam means oberably connected to said latch end of said plunger and arrangedto move said plunger so that said locking arms re-engage said latch shoulder to restrain said plunger.

3. An actuating device comprised of a spring-biased plunger, support means for said plunger including a mounting plate having a plunger opening receiving said plunger, said plunger having a cylindrical latch and and a neck projecting from said opening and providing a circular latch shoulder, two flat locking arms extending generally parallel to each other at opposite sides of said plunger and perpendicularly thereto, said arms engaging said latch shoulder and said neck, said arms having spring ends laterally spaced from said plunger and cam ends opposite said spring ends and laterally spaced from said.

plunger, a pivot pin projecting from said mountingplate, said spring ends being pivotally-mounted on said pivot pin, a C-shaped leaf spring arranged concentric with said pivot pin and encircling said spring ends, said shaped spring being connected to said spring ends adjacent said plunger to 'urge said arms toward each other, cam means including a rotary solenoid and an elliptical cam arranged to move said cam ends of said locking arms away from each other so that said arms re lease said plunger, reset means operably connected to said plunger and arranged to move said plunger so that said locking arms re-engage said latch shoulder to restrain said plunger, said reset means including a reset lever having a contact foot which abuts said mounting plate between said locking arms, said latch end and said neck having an opening therein receiving said contact foot, and brackets over said locking arms and located between said cam means andsaid plunger supporting said reset means.

4. An actuating mechanism for imparting motion to a control element comprised of support means including an.

elongated, vertically-arranged mounting plate and a horizontally-arranged tubular member projecting perpendicularly from one side of said mounting plate, said mounting plate having a plunger opening axially-aligned with said tubular member, a pivot pin projecting from the other side of said mounting plate adjacent the top thereof, two elongated fiat locking arms abutting said mounting plate opposite said tubular member and extending generally-parallet to each other from said pivot pin to the bottom of said mounting plate, said arms having spring ends which are pivoted-ly-mounted on said pivot pin and cam ends at the bottom of said plate which are slightly curved toward each other, a spring-biased plunger mounted in said tubular member and having a neck and cylindrical end projecting from said plunger opening, end and neck providing a latch shoulder, said arms engaging said latch shoulder at opposite sides thereof, a C- shaped leaf spring encircling said spring ends of said arms and being connected to said spring ends adjacent said plunger for biasing said arms toward said plunger, an

said cylindrical elliptical cam and rotary solenoid arranged to move said cam ends of said locking arms away from each other, bracket means projecting from said mounting plate over said arms, reset means mounted in said bracket means and having a reset lever and an actuator shaft, said reset lever being operably connected to said cylindrical end of said plunger for the return thereof, said actuator shaft extending across said arms and being rotatable to move said reset lever so that said reset lever moves said plunger and said locking arms re-engage said latch shoulder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Atkinson June 7, 1904 Wiseley Oct. 5, 1915 Webster Mar. 21, 1916 Robins Mar. 4, 1941 Kroenlein May 5, 1953 Favre Apr. 6, 1954 Aldrin Jan. 25, 1955 

1. AN ACTUATING DEVICE COMPRISED OF A SPRING-BIASED PLUNGER, SUPPORT MEANS FOR SAID PLUNGER INCLUDING A MOUNTING PLATE HAVING A PLUNGER OPENING RECEIVING SAID PLUNGER, SAID PLUNGER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL LATCH END AND A NECK PROJECTING FROM SAID OPENING AND PROVIDING A CIRCULAR LATCH SHOULDER, TWO FLAT LOCKING ARMS EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID PLUNGER AND PERPENDICULARLY THERETO, SAID ARMS ENGAGING SAID LATCH SHOULDER AND SAID NECK, SAID ARMS HAVING SPRING ENDS LATERALLY SPACED FROM SAID PLUNGER AND CAM ENDS OPPOSITE SAID SPRING ENDS AND LATERALLY SPACED FROM SAID 